After a while.
Will seed to be tired from singing, so he said to Xu Yun:
"Luo Feng, when you went to London to find Qin Pi, why did you get lost in Scotland?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yun shrugged and said with a pre-prepared excuse:
"Well, I got off the ship at Aberdeen Port, found a carriage in St. Andrews to go to London, but was ditched by a ruthless driver on the way, so..."
Will couldn’t help but look at him sympathetically:
"You’re quite unlucky."
Xu Yun gave a bitter smile, showing an expression mixed with three parts of desolation, three parts of helplessness, three parts of anger, and one part sadness, then asked back:
"What about you, Will? Have you sorted out your connections in London?"
Will gently shook his head, looked into the distance, and said:
"Not yet, I’ll just take things as they co. Maybe before long, I’ll co running back to Scotland with my tail between my legs."
Xu Yun asked again:
"And your family? They just let you go like this?"
"Family?"
Will flicked the whip lightly, a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes, and shook his head:
"My mother passed away when I was eight. My father used to be a lawyer, and after my mother died... well, for various reasons, I just left Edinburgh like this."
"...Ah, I’m sorry."
Xu Yun was taken aback at first, then quickly expressed his apologies to Will.
He didn’t expect his sowhat perfunctory question to touch upon Will’s sore spot.
Losing one’s mother at a young age is hard for anyone.
But then again.
In this era, being a lawyer was considered a highly esteed profession, perhaps even more so than in later generations.
In theory, a lawyer’s family shouldn’t have been unable to afford Will’s tuition.
So...
Will’s dropping out might not be due to financial issues but perhaps related to problems in the father-son relationship?
Creak—
Just as Xu Yun was pondering.
The once steady carriage suddenly sank heavily from the bottom.
The three people on the carriage simultaneously let out startled cries.
After a mont of daze.
Will quickly stopped the carriage, lifted the curtain in a rush, and asked inside:
"Mr. Thomson, are you alright?"
Thomson was clutching the handrail on the side of the cabin with his right hand, shook his head upon hearing this, and pressed the floor with the other hand:
"I’m fine, but what’s wrong with the carriage?"
"I’ll take a look."
Will swiftly jumped out of the cabin, bent down to inspect under the carriage for a few seconds, stood up, and shook his head:
"Mr. Thomson, the axle is broken."
Thomson’s expression instantly froze.
The carriage.
This is a mode of transportation that has left a lot of records and even samples in the developnt of various civilizations worldwide.
For instance, the famous Qinling Terracotta Horses and Chariots in Huaxia.
They are large chariots unearthed locally in Qinling, Shaanxi Province, in December 1980, with two chariots, each with a four-horse team.
They comprise over 3,500 parts each, and archaeologists have to piece them together like Lego, in addition to restoration work.
Therefore, the second chariot was assembled and restored by 1983, while the first one wasn’t completed until April 1988.
However, most civilian carriages are much simpler in structure.
Besides the hub, spoke, and rim.
There remains the shaft, axle, and flatbed, and so on.
At most, there would be a cushion between the bottom and axle as an original shock absorber.
And the sa principle applies.
A simpler structure ans that if any component fails, the carriage might beco difficult to proceed.
"The uneven strain on the axle led to an overload fracture."
As a Boss in the engineering field, Thomson quickly identified the cause of the malfunction after getting off the carriage:
"Also, the edge of the cabin was damaged when it sank, so the carriage can only run empty and can’t carry passengers."
Xu Yun also bent down to take a few glances, then stood up and said:
"I’m sorry, Mr. Thomson, it’s all my fault..."
He was interrupted by Thomson before he could finish:
"It’s not your fault, it’s the main axle breaking due to the carriage aging."
"You and Will were seated in the front chamber. If adding your weight caused an overload, then the baseboard of the four rare timber supports should have collapsed first." (Couldn’t find a Western counterpart for ’rare,’ so just using local terminology)
Thomson spoke seriously, as is his nature.
Though he still decided to part ways with Xu Yun at Dunfermline, it didn’t an he would unreasonably bla this unexpectedly encountered traveler.
The force distribution on this type of carriage is straightforward:
The main axle supports the cabin, while the front chamber is supported by rare timber and baseboards, reflecting a Western-influenced two-part load-bearing structure.
Thus, the main axle cannot be broken due to Xu Yun’s presence in the front chamber position.
Of course.
If Xu Yun and Thomson had both sat inside the cabin, then Xu Yun would bear much responsibility.
Currently, it seems.
This main axle should naturally terminate its lifespan due to prolonged use.
Will glanced at the two and asked Thomson:
"Mr. Thomson, what should we do now?"
Thomson remained silent for a mont upon hearing this, then took out that map again.
After spreading it out.
He also pulled a compass from his chest—the device was introduced to Europe by Arab rchants from the local area in the 12th century and is currently very widely used.
Thomson first aligned the direction and then, with his slender finger, started moving across the map:
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